


A Woman's Home

by blue_striped_pyjamas



Category: Call the Midwife
Genre: Fluff, I actually wrote fluff, appreciation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-08
Updated: 2017-04-08
Packaged: 2018-10-16 04:36:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10563843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blue_striped_pyjamas/pseuds/blue_striped_pyjamas
Summary: Sister Monica Joan reflects on the people she has met in the last few years at Nonnatus, and how special each one is to her. The fluffiest fluff I may ever write.





	

11th December 1962 was a special date for one member of Nonnatus House. It was Sister Monica Joan's 92nd birthday. It had been a long time since she had celebrated it, the Sisters held no tradition of celebrating birthdays, and anyone who might have remembered the date Sister Monica Joan was born had long since moved on - everyone she had known in her early days as a nun had been called to their Father in Heaven. Although there was no celebration, it was on days such as her birthday that Sister Monica Joan reflected on her life; finding a rare moment of peace, in her usually fogged brain.

If Sister Monica Joan had ever wanted a celebration for her birthday, this year she knew that couldn't even think of it. Her dearest friend, Sister Evangelina, would not be there to celebrate with her. Sister Evangelina was never one of celebration, and the two Sisters had a love-hate relationship, but deep down, they both cared for each other more than anyone else in the world. Sister Monica Joan, being more than one decade older than Evangelina, had always thought that it would be her who would leave the other. The shock of it being the other way around had still not quite been processed, although she knew that her Sister had served God well, and would now be enjoying eternal life. Well, Sister Monica Joan took a moment to consider, Sister Evangelina may be enjoying it, but she would still be serving Him. Sister Evangelina devoted her life to the service of the people of Poplar, and her spirit remained with them, reminding all in Nonnatus House that they must do the same.

Sister Monica Joan had seen a great number of people come and go through the doors of Nonnatus House, more than any other resident. The longest serving nun remaining at Nonnatus House, after herself of course, was Sister Julienne. Sister Monica Joan had a lot of respect for the senior Sister at Nonnatus, she was empathetic, caring, and had helped the older nun many times when she had run into difficulty. Sister Julienne was a far greater senior Sister than Sister Ursula, who had removed the television set from Nonnatus House, and Sister Monica Joan was not afraid to say it. Although Sister Julienne was far younger than Sister Monica Joan, she was able to comfort the older nun in a way no one else ever had; she was like the mother she wished for in her childhood.

Sister Winifred and Sister Monica Joan did not have a particularly close relationship. The younger nun was too modern, too energetic, and often did not have time for the older nun. However, and Sister Monica Joan tried to push the thought from her mind quickly for fear of great disapproval, she often saw parts of Sister Evangelina in the young nun. She was determined to serve, and when she set her heart on something, especially on doing something for the good of others, she was formidable.

The newest nun at Nonnatus House, Sister Mary Cynthia, held a special place in Sister Monica Joan's heart, and her absence, whilst she was at Linchmere Hospital especially, had been monumentally distressing. The younger nun was caring, gentle, and above all, was willing to spend time with her older colleague. She often spent her handicraft time listening to the stories the older nun could remember, and did not lose patience with her when she could not remember, or got distracted by a riveting verse of prose that had suddenly sprung to mind, or an interesting segment on the television set. Sister Monica Joan often went in search of Sister Mary Cynthia when she had a moment of clarity and had remembered something valuable, as she knew that she would listen. With her absent from Nonnatus House, Sister Monica Joan feared that her stories, and the knowledge they contained, would remain only in her own mind. If her young Sister did not return soon enough, they could be lost forever, and the poor younger Sister would not be able to learn as much as Sister Monica Joan could possibly teach her.

It wasn't just the religious Sisters of Nonnatus House that Sister Monica Joan adored, she adored the other nurses that resided there with them too. One of the longest residing nurses at Nonnatus was Trixie Franklin. She had known Trixie for a long time, remembering that when she first came to Nonnatus, she was friend with Sister Mary Cynthia, who was then known as just Cynthia, and later, the young Jenny Lee. Jenny Lee had not been a resident of Nonnatus House for a few years now, but Sister Monica Joan still looked forwards to reading the letters that she sent to the young nurses from time to time. She had been promoted to Ward Sister at the Marie Curie hospital now, caring for many people on their way out of life on Earth. Sister Monica Joan remembered the girl to be patient, and caring, even though it had taken her a while to acclimatise to life in the poorer areas of Poplar. Sister Monica Joan knew that if she was ever to be struck down by cancer, it would be Nurse Jenny Lee that she would want to nurse her if she was ever to be taken into hospital and away from her Sisters.

Trixie Franklin had changed more than any other young nurse at Nonnatus (disregarding Sister Mary Cynthia of course); she had developed from an immature girl, caring more about her appearance and her appeal to the other gender, than she did about nursing at times. Sister Monica Joan had thought her to be a silly girl back then, but she had since built a strong relationship with the young woman. She remembered fondly the night that she had eaten fried potato chips after a Keep Fit class, even if she had been reprimanded by Sister Julienne for it, fearing that it could be breaking their Lenten fast too soon. Sister Monica Joan was glad that Trixie had stopped drinking, she seemed much happier for it, and the nun would be distraught if anything dreadful had happened to her. Seeing her with the puller of teeth, dentist Christopher Dockerill, and his young child, filled her heart with joy, and hope for the future.

Although most of the nurses were a little over a quarter of Sister Monica Joan's age, there was one exception. Before Nurse Phyllis Crane had arrived, she had thought that the happy, yet bumbling Chummy Noakes was the oldest nurse that would live at Nonnatus House. Phyllis was one of the most bizarre women Sister Monica Joan had met, she refused to eat meat, yet condoned the culling of rats. Not only that, she bickered like a small child would with Sister Evangelina, the nun closest to her age. The women had tried to keep up a professional front, but Sister Monica Joan could see straight through it. However, when Sister Evangelina had left them, Phyllis had proved valuable to all at Nonnatus in going as far as anyone possible could to fill the gap left behind. Not only that, she had taken the young nurses under her wing, and Sister Monica Joan was glad that there was someone who could care for all of them. 

Sister Monica Joan did have a favourite nurse. The nurse who had earnt that coveted title was Delia Busby, the young welsh woman who lodged with them whilst she trained to become a midwife. Sister Monica Joan hoped that she would stay at Nonnatus after her training, and prayed for her success. She would be incredibly sad to see the back of the young nurse, who had already been taken from London once, almost forever after her terrible accident. Sister Monica Joan knew she would not be the only one, she was well aware of her relationship with another nurse, the red-headed Patsy Mount, and she did not bat an eyelid at it - she was please that the women had found love, she herself, although married to God alone, did not see the attraction most women had towards men. Delia had spent many hours with the nun, and they had bonded over a love for food of all descriptions, but most importantly cake. Delia could never be found without a milky brew, and Sister Monica Joan wondered if that was what gave her her admirable strength, both physically and mentally.

Nonnatus House had been missing a nurse for a number of long months now - Patsy Mount had gone to Hong Kong to be with her dying father. Sister Monica Joan had found herself often praying for the young woman, she knew the pain of losing family, even if one did not have a close parental bond with them. She missed the woman' presence greatly, Nonnatus House had gathered a great deal of dust without her, and if she did not return soon, Sister Monica Joan felt that she might be compelled to clean the entire building herself. She knew that it would be cleaned upon Patsy' return, she was often found alone in the kitchen, or the prep room, or any other room that could possibly need cleaning, and the elderly nun often silently observed her with concern as she fell into a trance whilst cleaning, completely blocking out the world. Sister Monica Joan often wished she could find the words in her mind to heal the suffering woman, but she knew she never could, even if she could clear her mind enough to make sense of the vast amount of scripture held there.

The newest recruit to Nonnatus House, Valerie Dyer, had not yet made any effort to become acquainted with Sister Monica Joan, and therefore the older nun was not making any effort either. She knew that the younger woman had brought sweet foods with her when she arrived but she had not taken them out of her room, nor shared them with the nuns as the other nurses often would. She was brusque, and although she was an efficient nurse, and appeared to care for her new colleagues, she had secret that not even Sister Monica Joan could read, and that confused her greatly.

There was one nurse preparing to leave Nonnatus House, Barbara Gilbert, soon to be married to Tom Hereward and become Barbara Hereward. Sister Monica Joan was happy for the young couple, and hoped that they would remain present at Nonnatus House, as she could not imagine life without the young nurse's innocent, joyful spirit. Barbara would spend her time in service to others, and often service to the young children of Poplar. She was bright and colourful. This made her a welcome change to Sister Monica Joan, who was used to the monotony of her Sister's, with their habits and wimples, and the uniformity of the nurses, who all seemed similar even without their uniforms. She hoped that the young couple would soon bring them the gift of new life, a true Nonnatun baby.

Another nurse who had left Nonnatus House through marriage was not a nun when she left. Shelagh Turner, who had been known as Sister Bernadette when Sister Monica Joan had first met her, had left the Order of Nonnatus in order to marry Doctor Patrick Turner, the Poplar GP. As much as Sister Monica Joan missed their hardworking Sister, she knew that she did not miss her as much as Sister Julienne, who she knew felt like a mother who's child had left home. Sister Monica Joan had not trusted Doctor Turner, as he had denounced her memory in a court of law, and she felt betrayed by him. They had recently begun to form a more civil relationship, as the prospect of him bringing a new child into the world with his wife excited Sister Monica Joan - there was nothing she loved more than newborns, not even cake.

It wasn't just the women of Nonnatus that Sister Monica Joan cared for, she cared deeply for the few men that often joined them too. The local curate, Tom Hereward, was a most suitable character to be taking the hand of Barbara Gilbert, just as Sergeant Peter Noakes had been to Chummy. Sister Monica Joan enjoyed the constant presence of Fred Buckle in Nonnatus House. She enjoyed winding up their handyman and gardener. He came up with the most extraordinary schemes, and was the closest person in all of Poplar to matching the mischief that Sister Monica Joan could make herself. She enjoyed seeing the look of frustration that fell upon his face when she replanted that he had deemed to be weeds, it reminded her that she could still use her hands for her own amusement, even when she could no longer do work of much use to anyone else.

On the evening of her birthday, as she tucked into her usual slice of cake, freshly baked by Mrs B, Sister Monica took a moment to look around at the people she was surrounded by at the dining table. If this was her last birthday, and it was likely that it would be, she was glad of how she spent it. She was surrounded by family, and she loved every last one of them dearly. No one could ask for a more perfect life.


End file.
